Gabriel shook his arms, thankful for the lack of pain. He saw Falco touching his face and sighing in relief. His friend walked to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water.

He tossed one to Gabriel and sat down on the couch. “That was… intense, to say the least.”

Laughing, Gabriel grabbed a chair from the table. “Yeah, it was that. I’m all for these simulations, but killing my friends with my bare hands isn’t sitting too well with me, to be honest.”

“You know I was thinking that too. When you grabbed my neck, I was like, ‘oh shit, it’s done.’ I do give you props for having the stomach to actually do it. Those trees are hard.” He laughed and took a glug of water.

“No duh. That’s why we used wood to build things, genius.”

The friends shared a smile, but Falco grew severe a moment later. “How… did you do that anyway?”

“How did I do what?”

Falco’s eyes grew wide. “All of it! You kept up with me the whole time! When I fought Quartz yesterday, I wasn’t even trying. Granted, it got me killed, but I was pretty much dancing circles around him.

Today I gave it 100%, and you still blocked or dodged a lot of my attacks. So… how’d you do it?”

He hadn’t counted on Falco noticing, but he might as well inform his teammates about Alfred. Considering Falco already knew Alfred, this would be quick. “Well, to answer your question, I have to tell you what happened last night after we split up.” He began.

Falco listened intently to the story, insisting on breaking Grizzly’s face in Alfred’s honor. After he was caught up, Falco looked at Gabriel with an open expression. “So he’s here right now?” He asked.

“Yes, he is part of me as well as the suit. In some ways, he will always be here.” Gabriel responded, unsure of how his friend would take the news that he was now part machine.

“Alfred, How’s it goin’?”

Alfred’s voice went out over the suit’s speakers. “I am well, Falco, thank you for asking. I would actually say that I’ve never been better, now that I have friends. I would also like to apologize about how Gabriel and I crushed you alive.”

Falco shuddered. “All good, Al, don’t worry about it. If anything, you guys just showed me you have the strength to watch my back. But Gabe, is that what Zero needed to talk to you about?”

So… total acceptance? Gabriel could work with that.

“Yes, actually. Zero figured it out by just watching my movements, but that wasn’t the only thing he wanted to discuss.” Gabriel opted to not divulge Dr. Atomic’s similar situation out of respect, even feeling that Falco wouldn’t betray his trust.

“What was the other thing?” Falco asked.

“Zero wanted to tell me he picked me as Captain.”

Falco broke out into a massive grin. “Congrats, bro! I mean, I kind of thought that what would happen after you took charge against Zero and Lilith just rushed in, but you totally deserve it! It’s a pleasure to have you lead us.” He stood and extended his hand to Gabriel, who shook it, even if his insides felt weak.

“Thank you, Falco. Do you think Lilith will take the news badly?”

“Without a doubt, but Zero has proven more than capable of handling her. There is no way she’ll just ignore your orders because then it’s on her. We went through the same training.”

That was reassuring. Gabriel didn’t relish a confrontation with a perfectionist. Thinking of the following team training session brought Gabriel’s mind back to the session they were taking a break from.

“Do you want to head back in?” He asked, aware that his friend had long finished his water.

“Sure thing, we’ve rested more than enough. I was thinking we would try our hand at defeating a group of enemies together.”

“That sounds perfect. What kind of opponents does the sim let you choose from?” He asked curiously.

“Pretty much anything, even other Supers. It generates them based on available data readings and video. Want to see if it can do a MechaBlitz Grunt? I’ve never seen one in person.”

“That sounds like a good idea, but just one?”

“No way. After that fight to the death, I won’t be satisfied with an easy win. Plus, there are two of us now. Let’s try four of them.”

“Four?! You do know that a Grunt is the equivalent of a Class four Super, right?” Gabriel asked, worried his friend was overestimating their skills.

“Hey, think about it. In a real mission, we won’t run into just one of those guys. Hell, we probably won’t ever run into any less than five or six at a time, and we won’t always have a full team in every situation. Say Quartz and Lilith are busy fighting a group and more show up, what then?”

Falco had a point. In the real world, the MechaBlitz was a relentless and unmerciful enemy.

“Alright, I agree with your logic. Let’s do this.”

Falco grinned, and they went to stand on the scanners once more. The Speedster set the parameters, and the simulation commenced.

They stood on a city street around what felt like midnight. The street lights were off, and no vehicles could be seen. The moon hung high overhead, and clouds flitted across the sky like a ripped blanket hiding the moon. Falco had chosen an evacuated city as the new training ground.

Judging by the street signs they were somewhere in South America, Gabriel ventured a guess it was Lima, Peru. It was one of the first cities hit by the MechaBlitz and the city with the highest death toll.

Over ten million humans died there in the first blitz.

Falco and Gabriel stood across the street from the Grunts. They were larger in person than online. Each towered over eight feet tall and must have weighed at least a ton... without their armor. Their helmets hinged open to let them bite and tear with their razor-sharp teeth. Bulky devices rose from each Grunt's right forearm.

Those must be Pulse Lasers, Gabriel thought, suddenly nervous.

“Why aren’t they attacking us?” He Gabriel.

“I think it’s because I haven’t told the simulation to start. Do you want me to start it now?”

“NO! Sorry, wait for a second. Let's consider how we are going to do this.”

“Of course, of course. Lead on oh wise one,” Falco said with a flourished bow.

“Very funny. Alright, what I see here is a deathtrap. They have small Pulse Lasers. Those things will rip right through my armor, and you won’t fare well at all if just one of them grabs you.

Since Rosenquartz isn’t here, I guess I’ll be trying to keep their attention. You go as stab happy as you like, provided you do it how you did against Zero.”

Falco nodded and said, “That sounds about right, but try not to get hit; I won’t be able to back you up if things get too close quarters… Captain.” He saluted.

This time, Gabriel snorted. “Ok, man, set the timer.”

The counter ticked down as they positioned themselves, with Gabriel hovering in front and Falco down the street with space to run.

Three, two, one, zero.

The Grunts roared as one and charged. They were as fast as Lilith, and their strides cracked the pavement as they ran. It was like an oncoming train - with lasers and claws. They homed in on Gabriel and closed the gap dangerously quickly.

Suddenly Falco zipped by Gabriel and was in their midst, slowing for a fraction of a second as he stabbed the first Grunt under the chin. After leaving his knife in the first opponent, Falco kept running and ended up behind them, ready for another pass.

Gabriel raised his arm and shot a blob of antimatter at the leading Grunt. Unafraid, the alien kept running forward, letting the energy strike it in the chest. A few more steps were all the torsoless legs could take before they fell limp to the street.

Seeing the demise of their companion, the two unwounded Grunts stopped advancing and took aim at Gabriel and Falco with their Pulse Lasers while the third plucked out the blade Falco had so carefully placed. Red light shot from the devices on their arms. Falco dropped to the ground and dodged the laser meant for him, but before Gabriel could even react, he felt a burning pain in his leg.

The Pulse Laser pierced your thigh. Our armor is useless against them, as predicted.

Having missed Falco, the Grunt that fired at him turned and advanced with its companions. Gabriel had their attention, now he just needed to find out if his plan would work or if this first encounter would end in simulated disaster.

Before they could attack further, Falco viciously attacked the Grunt that shot Gabriel. He stabbed him many times in the neck, losing knives to the diamond-hard teeth and leaving one in the Grunt's mouth as it turned to snap at him.

The Grunt went berzerk, lunging at Falco for everything it was worth.

Luckily the Speedster was a long way off. Even better, the Grunt wasn’t paying attention to Gabriel anymore. He sent a lance construct at its exposed back as he flew by. The torso and legs fell separately.

AM generator down to 85% efficiency, close to overheating.

The Grunt Falco stabbed prepared to fire. Gabriel had time to raise both of his wings in front of his body. The laser struck and pierced the first wing, then the second, finally reaching his chest plate at a reduced intensity. It left a charred, burnt indentation across Gabriel’s chest.

He shouldn’t take another hit; it would likely be his last.

Suddenly the fourth Grunt jumped into the air, its mouth open wide. It managed to grab hold of his leg, but after a few kicks, Gabriel was able to knock it loose - blood gushed from its torn jaw.

It shattered the concrete when it landed. Before it could right itself entirely, Falco was there. He aimed stab after stab at the Grunt's neck, dodging the deadly slashes. After a few seconds, the Grunt fell to its knees, clutching its torn throat. It would bleed out quickly, which left one opponent.

Without the option to use Antimatter, Gabriel shot down towards the last Grunt, the one with a knife in its mouth - Zigzagging to not give it a proper shot.

Falco ran in unnoticed as Gabriel approached. When Falco reached it, though, the huge reptile glared at him and swiped its tail. Falco’s legs cracked as the super was knocked off his feet and sent screaming through a wall like it was made of styrofoam.

Gabriel tackled the Grunt a moment later, but the alien stood firm. The lizard’s size kept him from steamrolling over the thing as he had planned. The Grunt's leg shot out, and Gabriel flew back into a streetlamp. The pole bent around him, then tore free from the ground.

Dazed, he stayed on his back while Alfred yelled in his brain.

GET UP! IT’S COMING!

He tried to stand but was kicked in the side, this time into a building. He didn’t go through the wall but instead slid down it to a sitting position on the floor. A few bricks hit the ground next to him. His chest ached like the fires of hell, and his left leg wasn’t moving well, but Gabriel stood and confronted his attacker.

The Grunt advanced slowly, cautious. It reached down and grabbed the remains of the light post and pulled it apart, creating a jagged spear. It continued moving as Gabriel regained his bearings.

When faced with a similar situation, Falco had just charged right in. Gabriel decided to do the same. His sword could slice the pole, but the rest of the improvised weapon would still hit him if the Grunt swung fast enough. He needed to end this in one attack, and that meant a head-on charge.

The antigravity generator whirred the loudest he’d ever heard it, but he had no time to register this - he was already shooting forward. He pulled his AM scissor from his waist and held it horizontally. The Grunt saw him coming and swung like a baseball player. Alfred adjusted Gabriel’s flight path, and the pole passed millimeters from his head.

The whoosh almost made Gabriel crap himself, but he held steady, heading right for his target. Passing by, he felt his sword cut through.

The generator managed to stop, but the speed shift almost made him black out, regardless of his Class 3 mutations. When he looked back, he saw the Grunt on its knees, trying to hold its torso together.

He landed softly on the ground outside the building Falco had been thrown into. Blood covering his body under his armor.

“FALCO! Where are you?!” He yelled.

“Over here, under the rubble.” Came a weak voice. “Did we win?”

“Yeah, buddy, we won. End the program now, save us both more pain.”

END SIMULATION.